by Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY Sports

by Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY Sports

Like many ballplayers on the verge of reporting to spring training, Boston Red Sox prospect Bryce Brentz tweeted Saturday that he's "looking forward to a great 2013 season."

What separates Brentz's sentiment from everyone else's is that he's also fortunate to still have a career.

Brentz, 24, accidentally shot himself in the leg while cleaning a handgun two weeks ago. The bullet entered and exited the leg, and Brentz tweeted that he anticipates "returning to full practice" Monday.

Brentz appears to be quite a hunter. In March 2012, the Boston Globe reported, he bagged a 290-pound boar while bow hunting.

This time, Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington said Brentz was "lucky" he did not suffer a more significant injury.

Said Cherington to ESPN Boston: "Fortunately for him, it's something he's going to recover from and be fine, and it won't affect his baseball career. I guess you could say he got lucky relative to what happened. I think he understands he got lucky. It's a serious thing, and he has to be careful. He's here in Fort Myers, and he's recovering, and it's not going to get in the way of his future, but he won't be in big league camp."

Indeed, when the story became public Saturday, Brentz took to Twitter to thank fans for the outpouring of support:

Wanna thank everyone for the concerns and prayers. I return to full practice Monday and looking forward to a great 2013 season

Brentz had been invited to big league camp, and though he was almost certain not to make the big club, he's still a factor in the organization. Brentz, the 36th overall pick in the 2010 draft, reached Class AAA Pawtucket (R.I.) last season, hitting .290 with 17 homers and 76 RBI in 127 total games between AA and AAA.